1. Technical Field
Example embodiments relate to a vacuum type pickup apparatus for picking up and moving an object (e.g., semiconductor chip/package) and a vacuum type pickup method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vacuum type pickup apparatus may be used to pick up and move semiconductor packages by applying a suction force on the semiconductor packages. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional vacuum type pickup apparatus 1 may include an absorption pad 3 having an absorption inlet 3a for contacting and picking up an object 2. The absorption pad 3 may be secured to a pad holder 6, and the pad holder 6 may be connected to a vacuum line 5, which, in turn, may be connected to a vacuum generator 7. A ventilation valve 4 may be provided on the vacuum line 5. The ventilation valve 4 may close the vacuum line 5 and open an external ventilation pipe 9 in response to a control signal from a valve controller 8 so as to change the pressure inside the pad holder 6 to atmospheric pressure.
Regarding the operation of the conventional vacuum type pickup apparatus 1, the vacuum generator 7 may generate a vacuum inside the pad holder 6. Additionally, the ventilation valve 4 may be in a vacuum absorption mode in response to a vacuum absorption signal from the valve controller 8. Consequently, the ventilation valve 4 may open the vacuum line 5 and block the external ventilation pipe 9 so as to generate a vacuum in the pad holder 6. Accordingly, the absorption inlet 3a of the absorption pad 3 may contact and pick up an object 2 by virtue of a suction force applied to the object 2.
The object 2 picked up by the conventional vacuum type pickup apparatus 1 may be relocated to a desired location and released. Referring to FIG. 2, the ventilation valve 4 may change a non-vacuum release mode in response to a non-vacuum release control signal from the value controller 8. Consequently, the ventilation valve 4 may block the vacuum line 5 and open the external ventilation pipe 9 so as to supply external air into the pad holder 6, thus, replacing the vacuum with atmospheric pressure. As a result of the atmospheric pressure in the pad holder 6, the suction force may be lost, and the object 2 may be released from the absorption inlet 3a of the absorption pad 3.
However, external impurities may contaminate the inside of the pad holder 6 and the object 2 by virtue of the external air introduced by the external ventilation pipe 9 during the non-vacuum release mode. Also, the conventional vacuum type pickup apparatus 1 may require the additional external ventilation pipe 9 for supplying external air to the pad holder 6, the ventilation valve 4, the valve controller 8, and various filters (not shown) for improving the quality of air supplied through the external ventilation pipe 9, thus structurally complicating the apparatus and increasing costs. Additionally, if the external air is supplied at a relatively high rate to the pad holder 6 through the external ventilation pipe 9, the object 2 picked up by the absorption pad 3 may be released relatively rapidly and may bounce to an undesired location. On the other hand, if the external air is supplied at a relatively low rate to the pad holder 6, the object 2 may be released relatively slowly, thus hindering the timing of the fabrication process. Furthermore, the vacuum generated in the pad holder 6 may be maintained, though relatively briefly, even after the vacuum line 5 is blocked, thus adding to the unpredictability of the release of the object 2.